The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

Song Shengfu always felt that she had forgotten something since she came here, until she opened the ancestral hall and registered Duan Jing'an under her own name. Then she remembered that she seemed to have forgotten to burn incense for the old ghost in the underground of the Duan family.

These days, whenever Song Shengfu had time, she would have people light incense in the ancestral hall. Everyone in the mansion thought that the old lady was old, so they started burning incense and worshiping Buddha.

Many families in the capital have the tradition of lighting perpetual lamps and burning incense every three days, but Duan Bofu has never paid much attention to these in the past.

Song Shengfu knew that Duan Jing'an would definitely win this time, but she still had to pretend. She went to the ancestral hall early in the morning to chat with the people below.

"You must work hard and build more relationships down there so I can have an easier time up there. I'll light incense for you every day to bless your Duan family with prosperity."

Song Shengfu sat cross-legged on a cushion, muttering to herself, with smoke and clouds swirling around her, like a demigod performing a ritual.

Burning, burning vigorously.

Song Shengfu was still thinking that she must choose an heir before she died. What would the heir inherit? It must be her ability to burn incense.

After she passes away, I can also smoke incense and be a happy old ghost.

"Old lady, old lady, I won, I won!"

"Our fourth master is the first in the second class, Master."

A voice came from far away, and it was a doorman from the outer courtyard running in.

When Suchun and Suqiu heard this, they quickly woke up Song Shengfu. Song Shengfu vaguely heard something about passing the exam and quickly asked if the results of the palace examination were out.

Suchun said excitedly, "Madam, we got it, we got it, our Fourth Master got second place, second place."

Song Shengfu had known this a long time ago. These little girls were still too young. Look at this little girl, she was so happy that she couldn't speak.

"I know, I know. A second-class Jinshi."

Seeing this, Su Qiu quickly continued, "Our Fourth Master is the top of the second class. It seems like he's being called whatever he wants."

The doorman beside "The second class is announced" added.

"Yes, yes, the Fourth Master is the second-class official."

Song Shengfu smiled and said, "Yeah, right, the second-grade head...!!"

"What? What first place? You said Jing'an is the first in the second class."

Song Shengfu was in disbelief. She remembered what Duan Jing'an's original rank was, Class 2, Grade 17 or something?

How come it's number one now?

Song Shengfu suddenly turned her head and looked at the rows of tablets in the ancestral hall. My goodness, you guys are really running yourself to pieces down there.

Wow, it’s directly pushed to fourth place in the country. So this is what it means when smoke comes out of the ancestral grave.

Song Shengfu was excited because the fourth best student in the country was in their family.

Okay, okay, burn it for me, burn it hard.

"Come on, let's go out and take a look. The incense in the ancestral hall must not be turned off. Keep it lit for me."

Just as he was about to raise his foot, someone else rushed in in a hurry.

"Oh no, oh no, old lady, our Fourth Master has fallen off his horse. He's now in the clinic next to Yuekun Road."

Song Shengfu hadn't recovered from the previous news yet, and when she heard this, she suddenly felt dizzy.

I was really seeing stars and my brain was not getting enough blood. I staggered and almost fainted.

Suqiu quickly supported the old lady, and Song Shengfu leaned on Suqiu. Su Chun took out the mint refreshing ointment she carried with her and gave it to Song Shengfu to take two sips before she recovered.

The first thing he said when he woke up was not to ask how Duan Jing'an was doing, but to tell Suqiu that he would not light incense today.

Song Shengfu walked out of the ancestral hall, complaining about these old guys in her heart.

If the relationship is not in place, don't be so popular. Just take a break for a day or two.

As Song Shengfu walked towards the main courtyard, Lu also rushed in from outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Song Shengfu was in good spirits.

"Mother, I just sent someone to Yuekun Road to inquire about the situation. From what people outside the palace have said, the situation isn't serious. Please have some tea and calm down."

Song Shengfu sat down in the main seat, feeling a little nervous. Since things began to change, some things became difficult to predict, especially when it came to human lives. There were only a few seedlings in the family, and none of them could be lost.

Sister Wei and Brother Kang also rushed over. Sister Wei had a serious illness a few days ago, and the little girl became even thinner.

Seeing this, Mrs. Lu felt distressed and scolded her in a somewhat blaming tone, "How did you take care of my sister? It's been so long, and she's still not fully recovered. She's become much thinner."

Song Shengfu pulled Wei Jie'er into her arms and sat her down, touching her cheek with some affection.

"Why is Sister Wei here? She's not fully recovered yet, so be careful."

Shen Shiwei shook her head and leaned in Song Shengfu's arms.

"Grandma, my aunt and I are fine now. I was worried about my fourth uncle, so I came to check on him." Shen Shiwei said softly.

Song Shengfu patted her hands to comfort her.

At this time, the person sent to inquire about the news came back.

"Madam, the Fourth Master only suffered some minor injuries. He's not seriously injured and will be fine after a few days of rest."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Duan Jing'an, he was parading in the streets when he suddenly felt the horse under him getting restless. The ceremonial officer who was leading the horse sensed something was wrong and pulled the horse's head. Duan Jing'an subconsciously turned his head back to look.

It was a stranger who was walking beside him.

"My dear, there's something wrong with the horse. Please get out of the way."

Duan Jing'an quickly noticed that the horse he was riding had begun to kick its hooves. Fearing that it might injure others, he called out to those around him to disperse.

The horse under his crotch was frightened and neighed. The man did not retreat but came closer. It was unknown what he did before he quickly walked away.

The horse immediately stood up on its front legs, and Duan Jingzong held the horse's neck tightly. The horse became even more anxious when its neck was tied, and wanted to throw the person off its back.

There are horses everywhere. If I fall down, I might be trampled into the mud by the frightened horses.

At this critical moment, Liu Huaian, the third place winner who was walking in front of Duan Jing'an, grabbed the reins on the horse's nose with such force that the horse stopped in pain.

However, after the horse's struggle, Duan Jing'an was thrown out due to inertia. Duan Jing'an felt that it was all over and his life might be in danger.

Fortunately, Duan Jing'an was thrown out of the team due to inertia, and the crowd surrounding him dispersed, and Duan Jing'an happened to run into someone's store.

Seeing this, the yamen runners who were maintaining order hurried forward to check if Duan Jing'an was injured, but when they arrived, they found that there was already someone next to him.

Looking up, I found that this messenger was really lucky. He happened to end up in a clinic that treated injuries.

If it were any ordinary clinic, they would not think so.

On the other side, Liu Huaian controlled the horse and saw the culprit was about to drive away on horseback.

There were so many people around at the time, and one of them saw this and shouted, "There's something fishy about that guy with the mustache! Don't let him get away."

The power of the masses was enormous, and they controlled the man in a short while. The officials who were maintaining order had never seen such a scene before, so they quickly asked someone to notify their superiors.

Duan Jing'an didn't feel anything when he fell down. Just as he was about to stand up, an old voice scolded him.

"Don't move, just lie there."

Duan Jing'an turned around and saw an old man with white hair and a white robe walking towards him.

"Don't move, let me see first."

The old man felt around and asked, "Try to move your feet slightly."

Duan Jing'an was about to twist his foot, but as soon as he moved slightly, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle, and the pain made Duan Jing'an gasp.

Seeing this, the white-haired old man said: "As expected, when I saw you fall at the door just now, your right foot hit the ground first. If nothing unexpected happens, it must have been twisted. Wait a moment, I will apply some medicine on you, and then fix it with a splint."

A little boy on the side assisted the yamen runners in carrying Duan Jing'an onto the wooden couch. Xie Qingyang, Pu Mingdan and Liu Huaian dismounted. Seeing this, the other Jinshi also dismounted and went into the house to visit. The house was instantly crowded with people.

The little boy who was pounding medicine stood up and asked them to leave. Only Xie Qingyang, Pu Mingdan and Liu Huaian were left in the room.

Duan Jing'an knew that it was Liu Huaian who helped him control the horse just now, and he lay on the wooden couch and clasped his fists towards Liu Huaian.

"Thank you, Brother Huaian, for saving my life. I will come to your house to thank you in person someday."

Liu Huaian quickly waved his hand and said it was just a small favor and not to worry about it.

The other two exchanged some pleasantries when a voice called out, "Fourth Brother!" came from outside.

Seeing someone coming in, the three of them bowed and walked out. After all, they were just fellow examinees and wanted to take a look to express their feelings.

They were about to leave Neixu Gate, and the remaining Jinshi could disperse, but the three of them still had to continue the parade. This was a big deal and could not be delayed.

If I just ignore it, it won't work either. Otherwise, if the matter gets out and gets known by the higher-ups, I'll be branded as someone who doesn't help or is indifferent to my classmates. That would be bad.